UK Labour party plan to ban combustion vehicle sales by 2030

The Labour party in the United Kingdom has announced their intention to ban sales of combustion vehicles by 2030 in a drastic effort to reduce the country’s climate footprint.

Following discussions last month at Labour’s annual conference that centred around achieving a net-zero carbon target by 2030, the UK Labour party will begin talks with the British automotive industry on the logistics of making this goal a reality.

With the automotive industry under threat in the UK with declining vehicle production numbers a continuing trend, the Labour government has turned to electric vehicles as the way forward for the industry, investing £3 billion into electric vehicle technology and infrastructure and a further £2 billion for the construction of three battery plants in the region.

The UK’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey believes the move to electric vehicles would provide a much needed boost to the automotive sector and that it was important to work with industry and unions to transition smoothly to the new technology.

“The automotive sector is one of the UK’s industrial success stories. However, the sector is under siege from Brexit uncertainty and the Tory party’s lack of ambition on electrification,” said Ms Long-Bailey.

“At the same time, we need to accelerate the shift away from fossil-powered cars if we’re to tackle the climate emergency. If we want our automotive sector to flourish, we need a government who is not afraid to intervene.

“It’s vital that we work alongside unions to create a plant for a just transition for workers employed in the automotive sector”.

Labour’s bold announcement comes on the back of Denmark announcing a similar plan to discontinue combustion engine sales by 2040, a move that has been supported by multiple European neighbours including Norway, France and the Netherlands.

The European movement to phase out combustion vehicles is yet another indication that the future of the automotive industry will have a large electric component. The region has continued to record strong electric vehicles sales, with Norway leading the way with 54.5% of new vehicles hitting the roads in September being electric.